Bowling pin



J. W. BISHOP ET AL BOWLING PIN Filed June 5; 1922 Patented Dec. 23, 1924..

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JOSEPH W. BISHOP AND JESSE O. MATTESON, OF MUSKEGON, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNORS TO THE BRUNSWIGK-BALKE-CQLLENDER COMIPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A

CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

nowLme PIN.

Application filed June 5, 1922. Serial No. 565,964.

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known thatwe, Josnrn W. Brsnor and Jnssn O. MAT'mso citizens of the United States, residing at Muskegon, in the v county of Muskegon' and vStateof Michigan,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bowling Pins, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide a durable and substantial bowling pin which can be made to conform to standard regula tions as to size, shape and weight, which will givea good ringing sound similar to solid wood pins and which will not crack,

split, or chip like a solid wood pin, or wear as quickly.

The invention also has for its object to provide a bowling pin having a hollow metal core with a composition covering thereon and securely united therewith to answer all the requirements for a bowling pin as well as a solid wood pin and to give a more pleasing effect in bowling and greater vlife and service. a.

In the accompanying drawings we have illustrated a selected embodiment .of the invention wherein- Fig. 1 illustrates a pin with the covering removed from a part of the core;

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Figs. 3 and 4 illustrate different kinds of cores that may be used.

Referring to the. drawingsthe core 5 is preferably made in the general form of a bowling pin in two or more sections which may be cast but are preferably stamped, pressed .or. otherwise formed 1 out of sheet metal and then united at .their abuttingedges by welds 6 or in-any other suit-able way so that they will be held rigidly together. This core is made of a reduced size tofreceive the covering 7 of sufficient thickness to make the completed .pin conform with standard 5 regulations as to sizeandshape. The pin may readily be made to conform also with standard regulations as to weightby varying the gauge ofthe sheet metal employed in making the core, or varying the thickness of the covering or by adding additional covering material or increasing thedensity thereof. We may use a covering of plastic composition, vulcanized to the core and consisting of a hard rubber compound, of a composition of hard vulcanized rubber having a fibrous material incorponated therewith, but we prefer to use a composition consisting of a plastic compound having small pieces of wood in the form of little sticks or splinters thoroughly incorporated therewith, as shown in Fig. 1.

We have found in practice that the cover ing can be caused to adhere tightly to a core having a continuous and uninterrupted sur face but bo-Wling'pins are subjected to very rough usage and it is practically impossible to establish a standard test to which a pin may be subjected for determining its suitability to meet all conditions which may arise in ordinary bowling. Some bowlers are able, because of their special skill, to throw the ball so that it will strike certain pins at or about certain places with considerable frequency, but even they are not able to do this regularly and one of the chief attractions of the game is the varying success which all bowlers, good, bad and indifferent have in playing the game. It may be said generally that the pins never fall twice in the pit in the same way; they fall in every conceivable-fashion and knock against each other and against the kickbacks and the bottom of the pit to such an extent that a solid. wood pin which has been in use for a short time is completely covered withdents or marks indicating where it has been hit or where it has hit. It is a. known fact that the best solid wood pins break, split and chip even though the. greatest care is exerclsed 1n selecting the wood, in curing it and in making thepin. We have tested our present pin in actual practice .under the usual 'conditions which prevail 'ina-bowlingal-ley and .find' that the covering can be united with the core, satisfactorily when done in a proper and skillful manner; but we desire .to ,provide against unusual as well as usual conditions prevailing in the bowling game and to provide a pin which will last longer than a first quality solid wood pin under similar conditions and which .will give more satisfactory results and be moreeconomical than the solid wood pin. To this end we prefer to provide the core with a plurality of openings into which the covering material may flow under the vulcanizing pressure and form an anchor and interlocking engagement between the cover and the core. The core is provided with ordinary holes 8 which may be round, as shown, or any other suitable shape the sheet metal being cut out completely to form the holes. In Fig. 3 square holes are shown formed by punching the sheet metal outward to provide projections 9 which are embedded in the covering. in Fig. 4 the sheet metal is punched outward to form round holes and projections '10 substantially similar to those shown in Fig. 3. The projections may not be as regularly formed as they are indicated in the drawings but they will be stamped outward and, if desired, the metal may be first cut to make the projections extend from each side of a straight sided hole more or less as shown in Fig. 3 or around a circular hole more or less as shown in Fig. 4, or the metal may simply be punched outward without previous cutting or slitting to form irregular projections which take their own form and shape as the metal gives away under the punching operation. We prefer to bend the projections to hook form so that they will make interlocking engagement with the covering.

The impact of the ball is usually against the belly of the pin where it is thickest and we prefer to insert a transverse brace 11 in the core at this point to make the pin better withstand the severe blows to which it is subjected, especially by large balls. It may be said, in this connection, that if the core is dented or caved in, so to speak, even slightly, it will pull away from the covering in some cases and leave a space between the core and the covering. and if the covering of the pin is subjected to a heavy blow opposite this space it will very likely break or crush or otherwise give Way. We have experienced this in some of our tests but we have found that when the core is sufficiently rigid and the material is securely united with or anchored to the core the pin will give superior and better service than a wood pin under as near as possible similar conditions. We prefer, however, to use a strengthening or reinforcing brace or plate 11 which may be secured in the core in various ways. We have found it satisfactory to provide the core with a plurality of spaced slots 12 and the brace with a plurality of projections 13 to enter the slots 12. In assembling the members of the core and the brace the latter would be inserted in its proper position in one member and then the other memher or members would be arranged in proper position; to facilitate the assembly some of the projections would be provided with bevel edges 13 so that the core members may be easily assembled to their proper abutting position.

Our invention provides a hollow bowling pin having a thin metal core with a cover-- ing of plastic material securely united therewith. to form a pin of regulation size, shape and weight which will be more sub stantial and more durable than good quality wood pins used under similar conditions. which will give a good ringing sound and which will give satisfaction to the bowler and to the owner of the bowling alley. The base of a wood pin wears out more quickly, under ordinary conditions, than any other part and the pins are often returned to provide them with suitable bases, and man efforts have been made, some more or less successful to provide pins with detachable and renewable bases. We have found in tests of our improved pin that the base stands up and maintains its shape and configuration very much longer than a wood pin so that returning or the use of detachable and renewable bases are unnecessary. Our pin presents a great advantage over wood pins in this respect because the bowling alley proprietor is not able to repair pins with deformed bases when they should be repaired and some times allows them to remain in use when they should not be used, often thereby affecting a players score favorably or adversely. We have found that our pin is far superior to a good wood pin as regards wear of the base and this makes the pin more economical as a practical matter and more satisfactory to the bowler.

After wood pins have been used for some time the surface thereof becomes roughened and to some extent splintered and dented and otherwise defaced which makes them to that extent irregular in shape and somewhat reduced in diameter. This does not i1 iprove the bowling game nor does it maintain the standard as to pins which is supposed to exist for good bowling. Fur thermore it tends to interfere withv the handling of the pins in pin setting machines and particularly in automatic machines. We have found in actual practice that pins made in accordance with our invention as herein described will preserve their surface condition and dimensionsmuch longer than the best wood pins, thereby maintaining the standard requirements and facilitating the handling of pins in setting machines.

We are aware that the construction and arrangement of parts, composition of the covering, the guage of the metal and other features of the'invention may be varied to a more or less extent without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the advantages of the invention and we reserve the right to make all such changes as fairly fall within the scope of the following claims:

7 We claim:

1. A bowling pin comprising an inner hollow metal core, and an outer covering vulcanized on and securely united with the surface of the core.

:2. A bowling pin comprising an inner hollow core having openings therein, and a composition covering on the core having portions thereof projecting into said openings to anchor the covering to the core.

3. A bowling pin comprising an inner hol low core having openings therein with outward projections at the edges of said openings, and a composition covering on said core and embedding said projections therein.

4:. A bowling pin comprising an inner hollow metal core having straight sided openings therein with angular projections extending outward from the sides of the opening, and a composition covering enclosing the core and embedding said projections therein.

5. A bowling pin comprising an inner hollow core, a transverse plate arranged in the core to form a brace therefor, and a composition covering enclosing the core and secured thereto.

6. A bowling pin comprising a hollow metal core having spaced slots therein, a transverse brace arranged within the core and having projections engaging said slots, and a composition covering enclosing the core and secured thereto.

7. A bowling pin comprising a hollow metal core having openings therein, a transverse brace within the core, and a composition covering enclosing the core and secured thereto with portions thereof anchored in said openings.

8. A bowling pin comprising a hollow metal core having spaced holes and slots therein, a transverse brace engaged with said slots, and a composition covering enclosing the core and having portions thereoi anchored in said openings.

9. A bowling pin comprising a hollow metal. core having openings therein with outward projections at the edges of the openings, a transverse brace in the core, and a composition covering enclosing the core and embedding said projections.

10. A bowling pin comprising a hollow metal core, a transverse brace secured within. the core about midway between the top and bottom oi the belly of the pin, and a composition covering enclosing the core and secured to the surface thereof.

11. A bowling pin comprising a hollow metal core having openings therein and hook shaped projections extending outward from the edges of the openings, and a composition covering enclosing the core and embedding said projections.

12. A bowling pin comprising an inner hollow core having openings therein with projections at the edges of said openings, and a composition covering on said core and engaged with said projections.

13. A bowling pin comprising a hollow sheet metal core having openings therein, and a composition covering on said core and engaged with said openings.

14:. A bowling pin comprising a hollow sheet metal core having openings therein and projections around said openings consisting of the metal displaced to form said openings, and a composition covering on said core and engaged with said openings and projections.

15. A bowling pin comprising a hollow sheet metal core, a sheet metal plate located transversely within the belly of the core and secured to the core to form a brace therefor, and a composition covering enclosing the core and secured thereto.

JOSEPH W. BISHOP. JESSE O. MATTESON. 

